I promised we would chronicle our family's experience in 72 hour preparedness. This week's challenge was to put together a 3 day transportable food/water supply. I want to say at the get-go that we are not doing our 72 hour food right now as a "pack it up into the mountains on our backs". I mentioned before that I am going for likely scenarios and assume I will have a car to transport myself and family. When we get to our ER pack with all the survival gear, I will look into MREs and other easy to haul items. Again, my goal is to have something and that something is better than nothing and I can improve my preparedness every 6 months when I rotate if I find better products.
We started our week by sharing a really cute message found at: http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=08855930f289b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD or look at lds.org in the search area for "Emergency" written by Lynn Tilton in March 1977. It's amazing how something good never grows old! This story is delightful and makes a really funny family home evening and the list provided in the body of the article makes for a good spark to the ideas that you might need to prepare your own family.
After discussing the story and how we all need to be personally prepared we began a very simple week of finding the right foods for our family. We decided that we should consider this an extended "trunk picnic", the kind we use when we travel or when we eat on Sundays out of town. We buy shelf stable foods that people like and that is what we did for this supply. Ours is near done and it took us a trip to a couple of stores and that was it. A "trunk picnic" looks like this (for us) as an example: small boxes of cereal, canned milk, nuts, canned fruit (mini ones with pop lids), tuna packs with crackers, individual packs of cookies, jerky, sandwich spread, crackers, little boxes of raisins, granola bars, Vienna sausages, protein bars, tomato juice in the small cans, candies like tootsie rolls, etc. While I realize this is not gourmet eating 101, it is a very do-able and eat-able survival pack. We are shooting for 1800 calories per day. We are going to gather what we need and then determine if it will fit in our extra $10 suitcase we have or if we need to put it in one of our travel duffle bags or box. This supply needs to be kept inside I think. I don't like the thought of 120* garages and food supplies. As we store our ER supplies, we have determined that we will have an ER clipboard hung in our laundry room. On it will be evacuation plans based on time. If we have less than 1 minute, we just get ourselves and others out. If we have 5 minutes, we will put a list of must haves in order and where they are. If we have 30 minutes, we will have another comprehensive list. That way people know what to get, where it is and don't have to think. On our clipboard will be some emergency procedures including how to turn off the water supply to the home, basic CPR, etc. I know from experience that in crisis your brain can go on freeze and it is really good to have a list to simply check off and not have to think so much.
Our 72 supply will probably need a paper sized box to hold it for the 6 of us. Again, I assume I have a car and trunk. I have flats of water for us as well. On the car issue, we feel it is really important to always have a full tank of gas in each vehicle. We look at it as quality marriage time as we will ride together and talk while we do this job. I have read that a full tank of gas helps the engine pumps work better and so it is a good double duty habit to form.
We will put our paper box of shelf stable foods that don't need any cooking in our front closet with the water. If we need to leave, we grab it and go. We will be OK for 3 days. If I have more time and room, I will also grab an ARK (sealed white pail full of food bought at any ER retailer--normally 60 basic meals--really basic like re-hydrated noodle soups). Since these have a 22 year shelf life, I leave them in our long term storage. I would assess any ER situation and see if I felt the 3 day supply were adequate and determine if more is indicated. The great thing about our food box is that in 6 months, we can have our trunk picnic and it's already paid for! We will re-buy the items and we will take a weekend get away and enjoy nature and munch on our food, thus testing to see if it would suffice.
My gut feeling here is to not make this harder than it needs to be. Buy what you can reasonably rotate back out into your food supply and again, if we have to "take to the hills" or something, I will consider other food rations to place in a survival pack. This pack I am making is for the most likely: power outages, drive trips for medical, short term evacuations, etc. Keep saying it, "Something is better than nothing!" Start a box and put what you love in there! Happy picnicking in 6 months or thankful preparedness in the meantime!
PS-Don't forget "mini-supplies". We realized that two of our family members are on the road working or commuting to school and they need things in case they have a problem. We have recommended our working individual have food, water and basics in case of ER in the car and our student to have water, food and basics where they spend most of the day at school (the student happens to work on campus and the supplies can go there at the work place). Also, a couple of protein bars in the backpacks at school for all kids would be a good idea. Again, keep it simple, but make sure to do something!
DJW
Thursday, April 15, 2010
72 hr kits
March 29, 2010 10:55 PM
I thought maybe a little list for starters would be helpful for the ER preparedness. I should have added this with the article to get people started. We have been working on our ER preparedness as part of the Duty to God program requirements for our son. We pulled out 6, very dusty, small suitcases that had been put away and not looked at for years that held our meager preparedness items. We had to giggle when the clothes were in the children's sizing and half of our guys are now adults!
While our previous efforts took my thoughts back to a time when we were a little more committed, I was ashamed the kits had been set aside for so long. After dumping them out and cleaning them and giving Jian some "new kids clothes" from the packs, we realized we needed to start over, as products had gone bad. The task seemed hard, but we determined we would get it done in 1 week's time.
One thing I had done years ago, was include a list in each kit of its contents. That list helped us to get started on re-packing the bags with "now" items. We are done with our project and the kits are now 95-98% complete (one thing we promised to do during this project was to keep the mantra, "Something is better than nothing!") and we will try to get the other 2-5% done at our next review of the bags in 6 months when the kits will come out, clothes will be washed, items will be checked for quality and also expiration (we marked everything with a Sharpe pen as "2010". When 2011 comes, we will take all perishable toiletries out and use them in our normal supply), and we will catch that other 2-5% that needs to be done.
We found we didn't have money to do everything right now, so again, we will save those thoughts for September when we re-look at our supplies and have an "ER Picnic" to eat up the foods set aside in our food pack. We just kept saying, "It doesn't have to be perfect--something is better than nothing". We used what we had already, which were the $10 little suitcases bought at a local retailer. I could see this working with the big plastic storage bins. Just fill a bin and put it in the garage and grab it and put it in the trunk if you need it.
We also looked at the likely scenarios we have encountered where the kits would have come in handy and packed to those needs. We have been evacuated from a local brush fire and had to quickly leave the area for treatment and shelter. We have had to run to the hospital for problems overnight. I think the idea of wilderness survival in our ER pack is a bit daunting. We decided to start with the simple: What if we needed to go quickly for 3 days to help facilitate a medical problem? (Our most likely scenario) Then we decided we would do a larger duffle with the "wilderness items" (Shovels, stoves, mess kits, shelter, etc.) later.
We split up the ER preparedness into phases we will do every March and September (so we can watch general conference prepared and without guilt at our unpreparedness-smile):
1. Personal Kits--clothes, toiletries, comfort items, medication, etc.
2. Survival Kit--large kit with our big first aid kit, stoves, fuel, shelter items, etc.
3. Food Kit--Food and water for 3 days
4. Important Documents Folder--copies of all important document, extra set of keys to everything and photo discs.
This week we have done our personal ER kits and this is our list of items. Your list will have to be hand tailored to suit and should be that way. These kits are for your comfort for 3 days should you have to leave home.
Ours had the following per person:
2 changes of underwear
2 pairs of socks
2 short sleeved shirts
1 pair of jeans
1 long sleeved shirt or sweatshirt
1 small flashlight with new batteries--packed 2 extra batteries as well
Solar blanket (bought cheaply locally at a retailer)
Money ($20 bills for each child's kit--more for parents--enough to seek lodging, gas, etc)
Sunglasses (since we use our nice ones daily, we put in those ugly cheap ones from the eye doctor--maybe we can upgrade, but hey, they fold up small!)
Map-(We felt only one pack needed this and we have a goal to have each car with one)
Medicine holder--(We bought 4 day pill packs and put our medications inside. We wrote down the medication, dosages, how often dispensed on a post-it and wrapped it around the medicine case with tape to secure so we know what we are taking)
Games and Books (each person put a puzzle book, card or dice game and one spiritual book in their case--between us we had: 1 Book of Mormon, 1 Bible, 1 For Strength of Youth, 1 Conference edition of the Ensign, 1 Friend, 1 Scout book, yahtzee, plain deck of cards, uno, crosswords puzzles, Sudoku, word finds, etc. )
Small Scissors or Knife
Paper and Pen (We put in two working pens with lids! and a sharpened pencil per person and a small stack of post its)
Personal first aid kit (I made my own since we can't use latex--I just put together a tiny 2x2" bundle: 4 alcohol preps, 4 bandages, 2 pieces of gauze and wrapped them with 12" of coban stretch tape)
Small sewing kit (this is in my kit since I didn't have another one and probably don't need one for each person)
Knit hat or ball cap
Knit gloves or mittens (got these real cheap at our local retailer for $.50 for 2 pair last week)
Small dental floss (just went to the dentist and used the small samples they give out)
Toothbrush and paste (same as above)
Small shampoos (I used ones collected from hotel stays)
Tissue pack (the small ones come in sets of 6-10 and can be split up easily)
Mirror (I used my old make up ones until we upgraded to new ones--boys didn't like "Cover Girl" on their mirrors)
Handiwipes
Deodorant--small ones are in the travel section of most stores for $1 (rotate new ones back in after 1 year since they do go crystalline after time)
Toilet paper (We squished a full roll flat per person and it fit nicely)
Hand Soap (I used collected ones from hotel stays)
ID tags (These are tags that have vital information on them--name, next of kin, medications, medical issues, important phone numbers, places to meet, etc. that we will immediately put on in an emergency to help us remember things we might not in an actual emergency--make them large recipe card sized, laminate and punch a hole and thread strong yarn though to wear)
Alcohol based hand cleaner
Matches with 2 cotton balls for fire start
Chewing gum for nerves
Hard candy for stress (not part of the food kit--just there for stress)
Small rope (I found 12 foot ones that serve as hanging lines for clothes in a pinch)
Bandana (good to protect from cold, sunburn, and to keep track of people. Buy a bright pattern for the family so you can see your own kind!)
Full sized garbage sacks
Feminine products as needed
Baby supplies as needed
Ponchos
Whistles (for alerting for help--we found ones with compasses, thermometers, etc. It was this season's upgrade!)
Insect repellant (go for the wipes as I worry about compressed air products in our hot garages)
Extra keys to the house and cars
Q-Tips
Lip balm
Brushes or combs (hair clips or scrunchies if needed for long hair)
Razor
Sunscreen
Washcloth and hand towel
Hand wash laundry soap (Can buy in the travel section of the stores--this will be so helpful if you need to launder clothes in a sink)
Clothes pins (you only need a couple)
Packing list--(super important--helps you know what you have in an emergency at a glance and it helps in the reassessment periods to know what you need to buy, replace or pack in the kits)
Remember this is for 3 days. While the list is long, we got most things into small, quart sized bags with several items (I like putting liquid items in the baggies so in case they leak...). We had most things on our initial gathering in the house with the kids' help. I kept a notebook by to write down what we were missing. We had a small budget to get the basics replaced and we had to let some items go as goals for next time (money in our packs, for example). I will write the hoped for items on the September calendar and then I will know how much to set aside for the September "re-look" and "re-pack". This is a great activity as you clean out closets and such for spring and fall and this helps hand tailor the kits for the seasons. When we were done, we put white garbage sacks to protect the bags from dust and to help us easily identify them in the garage. My living room was a mess for a few days, but today, it feels really good to have it done. I will share some ideas from our "food kit week" in a few days.
DW
I thought maybe a little list for starters would be helpful for the ER preparedness. I should have added this with the article to get people started. We have been working on our ER preparedness as part of the Duty to God program requirements for our son. We pulled out 6, very dusty, small suitcases that had been put away and not looked at for years that held our meager preparedness items. We had to giggle when the clothes were in the children's sizing and half of our guys are now adults!
While our previous efforts took my thoughts back to a time when we were a little more committed, I was ashamed the kits had been set aside for so long. After dumping them out and cleaning them and giving Jian some "new kids clothes" from the packs, we realized we needed to start over, as products had gone bad. The task seemed hard, but we determined we would get it done in 1 week's time.
One thing I had done years ago, was include a list in each kit of its contents. That list helped us to get started on re-packing the bags with "now" items. We are done with our project and the kits are now 95-98% complete (one thing we promised to do during this project was to keep the mantra, "Something is better than nothing!") and we will try to get the other 2-5% done at our next review of the bags in 6 months when the kits will come out, clothes will be washed, items will be checked for quality and also expiration (we marked everything with a Sharpe pen as "2010". When 2011 comes, we will take all perishable toiletries out and use them in our normal supply), and we will catch that other 2-5% that needs to be done.
We found we didn't have money to do everything right now, so again, we will save those thoughts for September when we re-look at our supplies and have an "ER Picnic" to eat up the foods set aside in our food pack. We just kept saying, "It doesn't have to be perfect--something is better than nothing". We used what we had already, which were the $10 little suitcases bought at a local retailer. I could see this working with the big plastic storage bins. Just fill a bin and put it in the garage and grab it and put it in the trunk if you need it.
We also looked at the likely scenarios we have encountered where the kits would have come in handy and packed to those needs. We have been evacuated from a local brush fire and had to quickly leave the area for treatment and shelter. We have had to run to the hospital for problems overnight. I think the idea of wilderness survival in our ER pack is a bit daunting. We decided to start with the simple: What if we needed to go quickly for 3 days to help facilitate a medical problem? (Our most likely scenario) Then we decided we would do a larger duffle with the "wilderness items" (Shovels, stoves, mess kits, shelter, etc.) later.
We split up the ER preparedness into phases we will do every March and September (so we can watch general conference prepared and without guilt at our unpreparedness-smile):
1. Personal Kits--clothes, toiletries, comfort items, medication, etc.
2. Survival Kit--large kit with our big first aid kit, stoves, fuel, shelter items, etc.
3. Food Kit--Food and water for 3 days
4. Important Documents Folder--copies of all important document, extra set of keys to everything and photo discs.
This week we have done our personal ER kits and this is our list of items. Your list will have to be hand tailored to suit and should be that way. These kits are for your comfort for 3 days should you have to leave home.
Ours had the following per person:
2 changes of underwear
2 pairs of socks
2 short sleeved shirts
1 pair of jeans
1 long sleeved shirt or sweatshirt
1 small flashlight with new batteries--packed 2 extra batteries as well
Solar blanket (bought cheaply locally at a retailer)
Money ($20 bills for each child's kit--more for parents--enough to seek lodging, gas, etc)
Sunglasses (since we use our nice ones daily, we put in those ugly cheap ones from the eye doctor--maybe we can upgrade, but hey, they fold up small!)
Map-(We felt only one pack needed this and we have a goal to have each car with one)
Medicine holder--(We bought 4 day pill packs and put our medications inside. We wrote down the medication, dosages, how often dispensed on a post-it and wrapped it around the medicine case with tape to secure so we know what we are taking)
Games and Books (each person put a puzzle book, card or dice game and one spiritual book in their case--between us we had: 1 Book of Mormon, 1 Bible, 1 For Strength of Youth, 1 Conference edition of the Ensign, 1 Friend, 1 Scout book, yahtzee, plain deck of cards, uno, crosswords puzzles, Sudoku, word finds, etc. )
Small Scissors or Knife
Paper and Pen (We put in two working pens with lids! and a sharpened pencil per person and a small stack of post its)
Personal first aid kit (I made my own since we can't use latex--I just put together a tiny 2x2" bundle: 4 alcohol preps, 4 bandages, 2 pieces of gauze and wrapped them with 12" of coban stretch tape)
Small sewing kit (this is in my kit since I didn't have another one and probably don't need one for each person)
Knit hat or ball cap
Knit gloves or mittens (got these real cheap at our local retailer for $.50 for 2 pair last week)
Small dental floss (just went to the dentist and used the small samples they give out)
Toothbrush and paste (same as above)
Small shampoos (I used ones collected from hotel stays)
Tissue pack (the small ones come in sets of 6-10 and can be split up easily)
Mirror (I used my old make up ones until we upgraded to new ones--boys didn't like "Cover Girl" on their mirrors)
Handiwipes
Deodorant--small ones are in the travel section of most stores for $1 (rotate new ones back in after 1 year since they do go crystalline after time)
Toilet paper (We squished a full roll flat per person and it fit nicely)
Hand Soap (I used collected ones from hotel stays)
ID tags (These are tags that have vital information on them--name, next of kin, medications, medical issues, important phone numbers, places to meet, etc. that we will immediately put on in an emergency to help us remember things we might not in an actual emergency--make them large recipe card sized, laminate and punch a hole and thread strong yarn though to wear)
Alcohol based hand cleaner
Matches with 2 cotton balls for fire start
Chewing gum for nerves
Hard candy for stress (not part of the food kit--just there for stress)
Small rope (I found 12 foot ones that serve as hanging lines for clothes in a pinch)
Bandana (good to protect from cold, sunburn, and to keep track of people. Buy a bright pattern for the family so you can see your own kind!)
Full sized garbage sacks
Feminine products as needed
Baby supplies as needed
Ponchos
Whistles (for alerting for help--we found ones with compasses, thermometers, etc. It was this season's upgrade!)
Insect repellant (go for the wipes as I worry about compressed air products in our hot garages)
Extra keys to the house and cars
Q-Tips
Lip balm
Brushes or combs (hair clips or scrunchies if needed for long hair)
Razor
Sunscreen
Washcloth and hand towel
Hand wash laundry soap (Can buy in the travel section of the stores--this will be so helpful if you need to launder clothes in a sink)
Clothes pins (you only need a couple)
Packing list--(super important--helps you know what you have in an emergency at a glance and it helps in the reassessment periods to know what you need to buy, replace or pack in the kits)
Remember this is for 3 days. While the list is long, we got most things into small, quart sized bags with several items (I like putting liquid items in the baggies so in case they leak...). We had most things on our initial gathering in the house with the kids' help. I kept a notebook by to write down what we were missing. We had a small budget to get the basics replaced and we had to let some items go as goals for next time (money in our packs, for example). I will write the hoped for items on the September calendar and then I will know how much to set aside for the September "re-look" and "re-pack". This is a great activity as you clean out closets and such for spring and fall and this helps hand tailor the kits for the seasons. When we were done, we put white garbage sacks to protect the bags from dust and to help us easily identify them in the garage. My living room was a mess for a few days, but today, it feels really good to have it done. I will share some ideas from our "food kit week" in a few days.
DW
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